This is written with all due respect for all who have been and are impacted and have suffered the coronavirus.
This is just one story in a million, but I feel the need to share my frustration when I feel it is completely avoidable. I and my family are beside ourselves with heartbreak thanks to the Newfoundland travel ban. We have not seen our daughter in person since December 2019. She and we have booked several flights for visits and have had to cancel them. We lived in hope that common sense would prevail regarding lifting the ban with increased understanding of the virus and the reduction in cases across Canada.
Surely with some restrictions we can be allowed to visit with some normalcy.
We are not originally from Newfoundland. My daughter resides there because of marriage and her job. It appears that none of the class-action suits against the Newfoundland government ban applies to us, Ontario residents, because we do not own a permanent home, cottage or business in Newfoundland. My daughter can leave and return, but not without sacrificing 14 days of her personal time to isolate on return to Newfoundland.
My daughter is now expecting her first child. The joy of this occasion is tempered by the fact that she is held hostage by the people who are in control of this ban and the fearmongers who have labelled the rest of Canadians as asymptomatic virus carriers who will invade Newfoundland, wreaking havoc on the health-care system.
Since when are the few allowed to restrain others from entering another province? Do they not realize or care how this impacts mental health? I cannot imagine that there would be a huge rush of Canadians from other provinces descending on Newfoundland with the intent to spread the virus. Surely with some restrictions we can be allowed to visit with some normalcy. As the numbers of virus cases drop across the country, we sit and wait and wait and wait for the powers that be to realize that you cannot hide forever from the potential that the virus will resurface. The resurgence of the virus in New Zealand is an example that the virus can recur despite isolation.
How many will remember “Come from Away” is now “Stay Away”? When times return to a near normal state and you invite us back as tourists to prop up your economy, we will remember...
Julie Hiemstra
Waterdown, Ont.
